Reviews by brurevu:

The Oktoberfest pours a dark amber with a nice tan head and all the trademark sweet malt aromas of the style. The taste is a good sweet maltiness with a slight hop and even a bit of Chocolate. For a darker beer it was light on the palate and very clean and drinkable. The Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest was a great Texas Oktoberfest.

More User Reviews:

The beer pours a reddish-amber color with a white head. The aroma is actually fairly nice, with some caramel and toffee notes. The flavor is not too great. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just very bland. I get some toffee and bready malt, but that is about it. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

I had heard the beers from Rahr's were better after they renovated their brewery, but this is the same, bland beer that they have always brewed.

Rahr you got me again! I used to buy the blonde lager quite a bit when it was $6.99 and at that price accept the occasional flat or sour bottle. Now that Rahr beers are priced in line with Great Divide, Sierra Nevada and others I don't take the chance however I saw the Oktoberfest and being a sucker for something new picked it up.

The description on the bottle says a large fluffy head - I was greeted with a dismal off-white scum, kind of like what you see lapping at the edges of Lake Lewisville. The beer itself was murky and uninspired. A marzen lager should snap and this just squatted listlessly in my glass. The taste was faintly malty with a touch of sweetness but I was distracted by an overriding watery mouthfeel.

I originally bought a 6 pack that was obviously bad. Contacted Rahr's and someone from the brewery drove from Ft. Worth to North Dallas to check it out, and then after tasting a few of the beers he replaced the store's supply with fresh from the brewery beer. BIG PROPS to Rahr's for that.

So I'll be reviewing the fresh beer.

Poured in a pint class to a very nice amber color with a small amount of of white head, with minimal lacing.

Smell is ok, nothing great (but not as bad as the first beer I opened that was bad).

Taste is also ok. I've been drinking many different Oktoberfests this fall and I would have to say this is not a very good contender.

Rahr's customer service is top notch. However, they need a little work on this seasonal.

Poured into a beer mug. Light amber color with a thin head that recedes quickly without leaving lacing. Nose of bready malt and something sweet like toffee or caramel that is subtle. Definitely tastes better than it smells with spicy hops, beady malt, and a little toffee. Spicy hops leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Medium body and carbonation, right on point for the style.
There are better Oktoberfests out there. This one got a little hop happy and deviated from what I expected. I finished it but am not going to be getting it again.

Pours a delicious looking beer-bottle brown with red highlights around the edges. Turns a little redder in stronger light. Limited head with no retention and pretty much no lacing. Lots of carbonation. Good color, but the lack of foam hurts.

All chocolate and caramel. A little toasty. A nice smell. With much agitation, some hoppy (spicy, piney) notes just peek through.

It's like dipping your tongue in carbonated liquid chocolate. Some toasty caramelized notes come through here and there too. A good taste, but nothing to write home about.

Served in a standard pint glass. Has a below average tan head that doesn't stick around long and doesn't leave any lacing to speak of. Appears a brown color with some haziness.

Nose is full of coffee and other malts. Just not what you expect from a Marzen. Some sweetness from the caramel malts. Taste is very similar. All sweet, no balancing factors. Just not right for a Marzen. The flavors were decent, but just doesn't fit into the style.

Mouthfeel is medium to heavy bodied. Too thick and heavy when going down, again, just not quite right. Overall, a decent brew, but nothing above average. Got stuck drinking this all of last week because it was the best they had to offer where I was staying. Don't seek it out..

Pours a very brilliant amber color, which shines in the light. Little foam. Very sweet malty nose, and loads of esthers. Quite buttery malty taste, and a lot of caramel in the mix. Sweet finish, with just a nutty hint of hop at the end. Very good,.

Pours to a generous head that falls to a thin layer and laces a bit. Orange-amber color. Aroma is sweet and slightly toasty Munich malts. Flavor is mild and deceiving for a 6.7 abv beer. Subtle arrangement of malty, biscuity goodness balanced by clean and floral but nondescript noble hops. Light mouthfeel for the style but acceptable. Overall a very tasty, technically accurate O-Fest.

Pours out like a dark, raspberry flavored iced tea with a tiny head that fizzles quickly into nothing. Smell has some nuttiness from the malts and a brown sugar aspect to it, but this is all drowned out by a harsh graininess and a weird butter/rubber band medley that I can't put my finger on. This odd characteristic comes out right at the gates in the flavor accompanied by heavy toast and even a bit of roasted malt flavor, it seems. The graininess shows up in the middle along with that weird rubber thing (which stuck around all this time). Finishes sticky sweet with a touch of marshmallow flavor. Mouthfeel is awfully light and prickly with a stickiness that follows each sip. Not impressed at all. I was really hoping for a good local O-fest.

Got from Lone Star after the brewery/distributor had replaced the bad batch that got shipped there so this one is factory fresh. Poured from a 12oz bottle (no date) into a pint glass. It was an orangish amber color with a ton of little yeast bits floating in it. Lots of carb. No lacing. It had a small beige head that quickly fizzled to nothing.

The aroma was very weak. A bit of caramel malt and just a bit of hops but that faded very soon after pouring. Not very appetizing. The taste was also very bland and what was there was off. Had a slightly bitter taste and none of the sweetness you usually find in a Marzen. Also had a very weird aftertaste. Can't pin it down but makes you dread the next drink and kills the mouthfeel.

Overall, a terrible beer - avoid. This supposed to be the fresh batch but sure tastes off to me. Not sure what the problem with Rahr is but over half of the beers I get from them are spoiled. When they are on the make a couple really good beers like the hefe but when they are off they are bad. And unfortunately they are off more than they are on. I want to support them since local but tired of spending good money on spoiled beer. They need better quality control, dates on the labels and non twist off caps.